# Rule section (/docs/editor/rule-section)

The id, name, description, category, scope, severity and matching of a rule.



The **Rule** section, at the top of the editor, says what the rule is and what it looks at.

![The Rule section: Id max-clip-speed, Name Fast clips, Description, Category Static, Scope Clip, Severity Warning, Matching First check that holds](/docs/editor/rule-section.webp)

## Id [#id]

The id is the rule's permanent name, such as `max-clip-speed`: lower-case letters and digits in words joined by hyphens. The rule's file is named after it (`max-clip-speed.rule.json`), and every report names it.

You choose the id when you create a rule, and it cannot change afterwards: the field becomes plain text once the rule is saved. A new rule cannot take the id of an existing rule; the editor says *A rule with id "…" already exists*. To replace a built-in rule, [edit it](/docs/editor/saving#change-a-built-in-rule) instead.

## Name and description [#name-and-description]

The **Name** is the short title of the rule in the Rules settings. The **Description** is one sentence saying what the rule reports, shown under the name. Both are required.

They are edited in the panel's language. See [Translations](/docs/editor/translations).

## Category [#category]

Where the rule sits among the others. It does not change what the rule does.

![The Category list: Static, Local consistency, Global consistency, Project](/docs/editor/picker-category.webp)

| Category               | For a rule that…                                                        |
| :--------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Static**             | checks a fact about one item: an offline clip, a disabled clip, a gap.  |
| **Local consistency**  | compares a clip with the clips around it.                               |
| **Global consistency** | compares a clip with all the clips of the sequence.                     |
| **Project**            | checks a requirement for the whole sequence: tracks, markers, settings. |

## Scope [#scope]

The scope decides **what the rule looks at**. The rule's checks run once for every item of the scope, and the fields you can use are the fields of that item.

![The Scope list: Items of the sequence (Sequence, Track, Clip, Effect, Marker), then Analyzers, each with a description](/docs/editor/picker-scope.webp)

Under **Items of the sequence**:

| Scope        | The checks run on…                        | Fields you can use                            |
| :----------- | :---------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------- |
| **Sequence** | the sequence, once                        | `sequence.*`                                  |
| **Track**    | every video track, then every audio track | `track.*`, `sequence.*`                       |
| **Clip**     | every clip, video tracks first            | `clip.*`, `track.*`, `sequence.*`             |
| **Effect**   | every effect you applied to a clip        | `effect.*`, `clip.*`, `track.*`, `sequence.*` |
| **Marker**   | every sequence marker                     | `marker.*`, `sequence.*`                      |

The rule's options (`options.*`) are available in every scope. The [Fields](/docs/reference/fields) reference describes each field.

Under **Analyzers** are computed scopes, which the built-in rules use for gaps, outliers, pairs of clips and requirements; their items are computed by PPROLint. Picking one adds the options it needs to the [Options](/docs/editor/options) section. [Computed scopes](/docs/reference/computed-scopes) describes each, with its fields; the simplest way to use one is to start from the [built-in rule](/docs/rules) that uses it.

<Callout type="warn" title="Changing the scope of a rule with checks">
  Fields belong to a scope. After a change of scope, a condition that names a field the new scope does not have shows a problem: pick another field, or change the scope back.
</Callout>

A single check can also run on another scope than the rule's: see [Checks](/docs/editor/checks#scope).

## Severity [#severity]

How serious a report is: **Info**, **Warning** or **Error**. The panel shows each with its icon.

![The Severity list: Info, Warning, Error](/docs/editor/picker-severity.webp)

Use **Info** for something unusual that may be deliberate, **Warning** or **Error** for a certain problem.

## Matching [#matching]

What happens when an item meets the condition of several checks.

![The Matching list: First check that holds, Every check that holds](/docs/editor/picker-matching.webp)

* **First check that holds** (the default): checks are tried in order, and the first one that holds reports. An item gets at most one report from the rule.
* **Every check that holds**: every check that holds reports, so an item can get several reports. Use it when the checks describe different problems.

See [Checks](/docs/editor/checks#several-checks).

## In a rule file [#in-a-rule-file]

| Editor                | Rule file                                                                        |
| :-------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Id, Name, Description | `id`, `name`, `description`                                                      |
| Category              | `category`: `static`, `local-consistency`, `global-consistency`, `project`       |
| Scope                 | `scope`: `sequence`, `track`, `clip`, `effect`, `marker`, or a computed scope id |
| Severity              | `severity`: `info`, `warning`, `error`                                           |
| Matching              | `matching`: `first`, `all`                                                       |

See [Rule file](/docs/reference/rule-file).